76 awarded payout over poisoning

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Seventy-Six people who suffered salmonella poisoning at Sofia's
Pizza Restaurant in Camberwell have reached a $200,000 Federal
Court settlement.

The 62 adults and 14 children, who ate contaminated chicken at
the Burke Road restaurant around Christmas 2003, will receive
damages from $500 to $13,000.

At least 90 people were affected by the outbreak, including
teenager Keeley Goldrick, who will receive $12,500. She was was
forced to have her appendix removed.

"I feel sheer anger. The payout can't buy all the things that
I've gone through and lost, like not spending New Year's Eve with
my boyfriend, the constant worrying of my parents, lying on the
couch being depressed for such a long time," she said.

The restaurant was closed by the Department of Human Services
after the outbreak, but is now operating again.

Lawyer James Higgins, of Slater and Gordon, said the settlement
was a just result for the suffering that had been caused.